Typically the air bag light will flash a code. If it’s just flashing continuously with no pauses or breaks then I would assume it’s done.
Progress Thread Komo's 1990 GT - Parts Gathering Purgatory
- Thread starter gkomo
- Start date
It flashes 6 or 66, which after some research a lot of people say is the clockspring. But, with cruise and the horn working i'm assuming the clockspring is good.
www.veryuseful.com says code 6 is Driver Side Air Bag Circuit- High Resistance or Open but i don't know what that means.
Means the air bag in the steering column either has an internal issue or there is a wiring problem. I think Ford used the same air bag modules in multiple cars and some had passenger side air bags. Someone else with more knowledge on that can chime in.
I will say that the first air bag module in my 93 that went bad was coding for the sensor in the bottom of the B pillar being bad or having a wiring issue. Turned out the module was bad. I had a spare and installed it after getting frustrated trying to diagnose the issue and that solved the problem.
I will say that the first air bag module in my 93 that went bad was coding for the sensor in the bottom of the B pillar being bad or having a wiring issue. Turned out the module was bad. I had a spare and installed it after getting frustrated trying to diagnose the issue and that solved the problem.
Those modules have an internal self destructive fuse (thermal fuse) that blows if it thinks the bag could unintentionally be deployed by a fault like a shorted wire . It can be taken apart and looked at, it's obvious if it's blown.
What we used to do at the dealer was unplug the air bag and install a resistor of a know value in it's place. Then measure through the harness and clock spring looking for that value while tuning the wheel and tugging / jiggling stuff to see if it glitched. An analog ohm meter works best for this.
They always told us not to measure through the harness directly with the air bag plugged in as the ohm meter puts out 9v to measure resistance and it can deploy the bag.
What we used to do at the dealer was unplug the air bag and install a resistor of a know value in it's place. Then measure through the harness and clock spring looking for that value while tuning the wheel and tugging / jiggling stuff to see if it glitched. An analog ohm meter works best for this.
They always told us not to measure through the harness directly with the air bag plugged in as the ohm meter puts out 9v to measure resistance and it can deploy the bag.
As always, I’m a few months out still from digging into this but I think I’ll start with sending the module into airbagsystems and let them go through it in the same fashion ECU exchange does with our ECUs. It’s $100.
If that doesn’t work I’ll start troubleshooting more. I want all systems to be functional however old and decrepit they may be.
But with anything… can’t leave well enough alone. Our latest adventure involves my wife wanting to get out of my parents house so we are gonna rent a place near the beach for June, then we are house/dog sitting for neighbors on our house street for the first two weeks of July, move back into my parents for the last two weeks of July, then move back to the same rental for August. Ugh. House better be F’n done by September 1st so we can just move back in at that point…. Busy busy busy next few months it looks like!
If that doesn’t work I’ll start troubleshooting more. I want all systems to be functional however old and decrepit they may be.
But with anything… can’t leave well enough alone. Our latest adventure involves my wife wanting to get out of my parents house so we are gonna rent a place near the beach for June, then we are house/dog sitting for neighbors on our house street for the first two weeks of July, move back into my parents for the last two weeks of July, then move back to the same rental for August. Ugh. House better be F’n done by September 1st so we can just move back in at that point…. Busy busy busy next few months it looks like!
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right now it seems more like ‘work’ than the ‘adventure’ my wife sees it as. I think that difference in viewpoint is because I’m the one who has to do all the moving while she just shows up.
Either way… ya hopefully we laugh about this later on, just with bags under our eyes haha
Either way… ya hopefully we laugh about this later on, just with bags under our eyes haha
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Yea that’s about right. Story of my life and I bet same for the rest of all you. lol
It will be like that forever. lol
They already run the damned world.
But nooooooooo... That wasn't good enough. We let them p-whip us into letting them vote too!
But nooooooooo... That wasn't good enough. We let them p-whip us into letting them vote too!
Still no car updates… except when I was out replacing the FMU vacuum hose a younger mom pushing her baby walked by and said “rad car I love it!”. Kinda surprised me. Anyways, more home updates:
Here you can see where that damned expensive bi-fold door will go. They have it framed in:
Should make for a nice indoor/outdoor space.
Don’t mind our jungle for landscaping. We’ve stopped all efforts on landscaping during this process.
Edit: oh ya I did replace my ignition coil. Car actually seemed to run a little smoother but could be placebo effect. Both old and new coils had 0.6 resistance when using a Fluke.
Here you can see where that damned expensive bi-fold door will go. They have it framed in:
Should make for a nice indoor/outdoor space.
Don’t mind our jungle for landscaping. We’ve stopped all efforts on landscaping during this process.
Edit: oh ya I did replace my ignition coil. Car actually seemed to run a little smoother but could be placebo effect. Both old and new coils had 0.6 resistance when using a Fluke.
So i replaced my ignition coil with a new Motorcraft one from RockAuto. Car runs as well as it does normally, like i said maybe it seems a little smoother but probably just in my head.
Anyways, there is a new faint 'buzzing' noise now i hear in the cabin. When i got to work and parked i just put my ear up to the drivers side hood vent and listened (since its right above the coil) but don't really notice any noise at the source. I've read online other people who have replaced their coils sometimes get a buzzing and/or chirping noise (no chirping for me). What i can't find out is if that means the coil is no good or just the way it is.
Anyways, there is a new faint 'buzzing' noise now i hear in the cabin. When i got to work and parked i just put my ear up to the drivers side hood vent and listened (since its right above the coil) but don't really notice any noise at the source. I've read online other people who have replaced their coils sometimes get a buzzing and/or chirping noise (no chirping for me). What i can't find out is if that means the coil is no good or just the way it is.
Haven't tried. I'll test it on the way home. Typically in the morning i'm so tired i'm just zombied out cruising to work.
So took a break to fill up the tank. On the way back there is a long 'side street' so i did a pull in 2nd gear. MAJOR cut out twice in much lower RPMs. I wasn't exactly staring at the RPM gauge but it cut out around 3,500 and then again at like 4-4500 RPMs (sort of guessing). No major noises, not pinging, just power cuts out. Freaked me out since it happened much lower in the RPM range than what i'm used to. It bucked like crazy.
So, i then shifted into third and made a pull again. This time, no cutout but i was only able to get up to like 4,500 RPM before i ran out of road and had to slow down. Something is going on with my ignition system i think. Maybe my PIP is going out. The car makes no odd noises, just cuts power completely. I briefly glanced at the AFR gauge on the 3rd gear pull and it was in the low 12's (at least when i looked).
Car pulls strong up until it doesn't though.
Edit: oh and i think the coil buzzing is the 'play' between the core and the housing. I jammed a ziptie in between one of the sides so its sturdy now. I'll see if that works, if it does, i'll get a more permanent solution rigged up.
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If you are 100% sure the plugs are not cracked and the wires are in really good shape I would start looking at the distributor. If you have already replaced the cap and rotor then it could be the PIP, TFI, or a worn out body allowing the distributor shaft to wobble.
Mine had some high rpm miss and it was due to the bushing down in the body of the distributor being worn enough to get some wobble in the distributor shaft. I replaced the distributor with a "new" body and salvaged the PIP and TFI off my old distributor. After that the miss went away.
Mine had some high rpm miss and it was due to the bushing down in the body of the distributor being worn enough to get some wobble in the distributor shaft. I replaced the distributor with a "new" body and salvaged the PIP and TFI off my old distributor. After that the miss went away.
Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and coil are all new Motorcraft parts (i know i know they could still be bad).
I did email a few yards from Car-part for distributors, but haven't heard back yet. From one of your latest posts in my thread i did buy the Standard Products PIP and TFI (somewhere at my house i have a motorcraft TFI that i tested good as well) you recommended. I will just keep driving the car, not getting on it hard, until i move back in. Hopefully by then i will have a spare OEM distributor that i can rebuild with new parts. However, i don't have a press to get the bottom gear off so i'll have to figure that out.
Just need the car to survive until i can park it safely back in the garage. Once there... i don't care if it sits for a year while doing all the work i've been hoarding parts for.
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Zip tie between the coil and housing stopped the noise i was hearing. Just FYI for anyone else that may be wondering whats going on.
Great news for you! Thanks for sharing. When I get home next week I will inspect mine and see if this is the noise I have been dealing with. Glad yours is solved! Good job!
You have time so watch this press as they go on sale pretty regularly.
And get one of these:
And get one of these:
